The Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted on Sunday 1st one of the heaviest casualties on Russian troops since the beginning of the war with an arms supply attack by the US. With the help of Himara modern radarguided rocket launcher, the Ukrainians destroyed a Russian soldiers’ barracks in Makivka in the province Donetskone of the provinces occupied by Kremlin troops.
According to Russia, at least 63 soldiers were killed. Ukraine says it killed more than 400 men in the bombing. Even the number of casualties officially acknowledged by the Russians already implies one of the highest casualties for the Kremlin in the conflict.
The Russians themselves saw the impact of the Ukrainian attack. For this purpose, Danil Bezsonov, spokesman for the government, was installed Wladimir Putin Since the province was annexed last year, bombing raids have dealt a severe blow to Kremlin forces. Within Russia, criticism of the conduct of the war and the army’s repeated setbacks is growing.
Since September, Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive against Russia that has resulted in the recapture of strategically important areas in the south and east of the country, mainly in the Kharkiv and Kherson provinces. Donetsk, Ukrainian military sources say, would be a bigger and more difficult target to reach, but that remains in the sights of Volodmir Zelenskyy’s troops.
To change the course of the conflict, Ukrainians are relying on sophisticated weapons donated by the United States and other European allies. One of the most effective is the Himars, whose range of tens of kilometers allows attacks inside Russian lines, like Sunday’s bombardment.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, at least four shortrange missiles landed in the case.
:quality(80)/cloudfrontuseast1.images.arcpublishing.com/estadao/BFB7FCUFMRBSDMND7TGPGIC2WQ.jpg "Ukraine attack with US weapons kills at least 63 Russian soldiers, major setback for Putin 3")
Himars is one of the most important Ukrainian military posts in the war Photo: Portal/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
The bombing, which took place just after midnight on New Year’s Day, immediately sparked outrage from some analysts who support Putin’s war on Russia. Some said it was the latest example of Russian military commanders’ ineptitude at war and their disregard for the lives of Russian soldiers, a sign of the Russian leader’s grueling strategy on the home front.
A former Russian paramilitary commander in Ukraine, Igor Girkin, confirmed the gravity of the disaster, writing on Telegram, the social messaging app, that hundreds of soldiers were killed and wounded, but added that many people remained under the rubble.
The accommodation building, which was a school before the war, was almost completely destroyed as it also functioned as an ammunition store, which accelerated the explosions.
A video posted to social media showed firefighters inside a badly damaged building and piles of smoldering debris. Makivka’s attack comes as Russian military bloggers, who have become influential Russian opinion leaders amid mainstream media censorship, are calling for an overhaul of their country’s military command, which they say is dragging Russia into defeat in Ukraine.
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Also according to these bloggers, most of the victims are conscripts from the Saratov and Samara regions of central Russia, who were recently sent to the front lines after Putin decided to expand the callup of reservists amid subsequent battlefield setbacks.
“No one takes responsibility for the unnecessary deaths,” wrote one blogger, Anastasia Kashevarova, on her Telegram channel. Bloggers particularly criticized Russian state media’s claim that the attack was caused by soldiers using mobile phones, which helped Ukrainian forces pinpoint their location.
Bloggers said the official statement put the blame on the victims without explaining why commanders had newly arrived recruits barracked in tight quarters in an exposed building within range of US missiles.
Donetsk is home to some of the heaviest fighting in Ukraine, although little ground has changed hands in months. Intense artillery combat ensued as Moscow attempted to bring in reinforcements, including newly mobilized soldiers.
The city of Makivka, which is part of the metropolitan area of the regional capital Donetsk, is easily accessible to Ukrainian longrange artillery via the region’s front lines. The attack came weeks after another longrange Ukrainian attack on Russian forces in Donetsk and the neighboring Luhansk region.
In December, members of the Wagner paramilitary group using the hotel as a base were killed in an attack on a hotel in the Luhansk town of Kadivka, according to Ukrainian officials in the region. The Wagner group, whose leader has close ties to Putin, played a significant role in Moscow’s war effort in Donetsk./NYT